Stevenson Motorsports Mexico Race Report
March 8, 2007; Stevenson Motorsports Corvette Beats The Heat In Mexico
At the Autodromos Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City, Mexico, the #57 Stevenson Motorsports Corvette managed to stay on track and beat the heat that was provided in equal measure by a very warm sun and some very fast competition, for a solid 9th place finish in the GT class of the Grand American Road Racing Association Rolex Sports Car Series. Under bright blue skies the talented driving duo of Dominic Cicero II and Marc Bunting stayed ‘between the lines’ to finish in front of 11 other cars in the GT class.
38 cars took the green flag at 3:15 PM and all the action managed to stay on the track as this race marked the first in a long while to be run completely under green flag conditions. There wasn’t a single yellow flag period throughout. While there were some instances of contact between cars in both the Daytona Prototype (DP) class and the GT class, none of the incidents required slowing the entire field. For the #57 Corvette, the full 100 lap event was a clean run to the checkered flag, with only one minor on track incident.
Bunting: “I had contact with the #67 TRG car. He locked his brakes up going into turn 1. Fortunately there wasn’t any significant damage to the #57.”
Both drivers were a bit surprised the race ran all the way through without a caution period.
Bunting: “I was surprised there were no yellow flags shown because there are several spots on the track where if a driver makes a mistake the result will certainly bring out a yellow. But for some reason unknown to me, for the last two years in Mexico there have been very few yellows.”
Cicero: “I was definitely surprised. I thought for sure with the esses in the back that the DP cars would be taking out GT cars left and right. But everybody played nice and we had a good clean race.”
Heat was an issue in Mexico but everyone seemed to be able to keep their cool; almost.
Bunting: “Heat was an issue in the car. That is something we will have to address before Homestead.”
Cicero: “The heat was a huge issue in the car, we need to seal up a lot of ducts and holes before the next race. All the engine compartment heat was pouring into the driver’s compartment. We didn’t have cool suits or forced air to the helmets. It was a miserable day in the car. The race was one of the hardest things I have ever done. The last ten laps I was ready to quit but I couldn’t after everyone had worked so hard since Daytona.
“I felt like I was something in the oven! I have some blisters on my feet - but I lived!”
Team Strategist Ron Ogletree feels improvements in the driver’s comfort in the cockpit will be addressed. “The heat and cockpit environment problem for the drivers needs to be addressed immediately and I’m sure our Crew Chief, Michael Hoffman, has a handle on that issue.”
Overall, the team characterized this race as a clean and successful second outing for the Crawford Race Cars-built Corvette. The car debuted at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona and had a few mechanical gremlins interfere with its progress. But, as it did in Mexico, the #57 Corvette made it to the checkered flag.
Bunting: “The Stevenson Corvette ran flawlessly throughout the race. The crew did a great job with the car and we made significant improvements throughout the weekend
Cicero: “The car ran well in the race. We missed the set up a little with race day being a lot hotter then testing but we made some good progress with the car and the team. The crew did a great job on the pit stop. We did have a problem getting fuel in the car but I think that was a fuel cell issue. For a new group of guys running in only their second race as a unit, they are really starting to gel.”
Mike Johnson joined the Stevenson Motorsports team as the new Team Manager, after the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. He was enthusiastic about the team’s performance in Mexico and is looking forward to moving the Stevenson Corvettes up amongst the top six teams in the class.
“All in all I am very pleased with our performance in our first race together. The team and the car made a lot of headway over the short weekend, but we still have a long way to go before we are a true contender. Right now there are five very good two-car teams in GT (Tafel Racing, TRG, Speedsource, Banner and the Farnbacher/Loles teams) that have all won races and Championships in this form of racing. If we continue to have the progress that we made this weekend, we should be right in the mix with them every weekend. “
Ogletree: “We had our list of problems to overcome but most were rather insignificant on their own but as the list grew the burden did as well. The good news is that we worked through the list and were able to resolve most of them with the limited materials we had available because of the venue. But it was still a very good event for the growth of the team.”
Johnson: “I am looking forward to getting the car back to the shop to address our current concerns, and go back after them at Homestead.”
Ogletree welcomes the addition of Johnson to the team and sees his involvement as a positive factor in achieving future success.
“The addition of Mike Johnson to the team as Team Manager was a natural progression of the growth of the team. Mike is very capable and has provided a focus the team has been searching for. He and I got along great almost from the very beginning, and his no nonsense management style quickly got the team to follow his leads. The one thing I liked most about Mike’s style was his ability to listen as well as direct.”
Passions for the sport of auto racing run high in Mexico and Cicero and Bunting had nothing but praise for the fans.
Bunting: “The fans show a true passion for motor sports I always look forward to racing in Mexico for that reason.”
Cicero: “The fans were great, they actually pulled Marc and I off the pit cart after the race to take pictures! The people down there are so gracious. I loved it there!” .
The team next heads to Miami and the Homestead Speedway for round three of the 2007 season.
The 2007 Grand American Rolex Series GT calendar:
Jan. 27-28 Rolex 24 at Daytona March 3 Mexico City March 24 Homestead April 28-29 Virginia International Raceway May 19-20 Laguna Seca May 28 Lime Rock Park June 9 Watkins Glen, 6 hours June 23-24 Mid-Ohio July 5 Daytona 250 July 14 Iowa July 21-22 Barber Motorsports Park Aug. 3 Montreal, Quebec Sept. 15 Miller Motorsports Park For more information on the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series visit: http://grandamerican.com/Home.asp Team Website: www.stevensonmotorsports.com Team Owner: John Stevenson jostev@earthlink.net Team Offices: Stevenson MotorSports 2225 N. Marine Blvd Jacksonville, North Carolina 28546 Phone: 910-455-1555 Associate Sponsors Information: http://www.jeselonline.com www.airgas.com www.gmgoodwrench.com/perfpartsjsp/home.jsp http://www.fthr.com/ www.hoosiertire.com www.knfilters.com Driver Bios: Marc Bunting Birth date: 09/20/1968 Birthplace: Baltimore, Md. Hometown: Monkton, Md. Personal Information: Has two daughters (Jessie, Calli). Co-founder and chief financial officer of Alpine Bagel Co. Board member of the Baltimore Police Athletic League, Civic Works and Outward Bound. An advisory board member of the National Aquarium in Baltimore and Catholic Charities, Baltimore. Racing Resume: 2005 Finished second in the Rolex GT Drivers Championship (tied with Andy Lally). 2 wins and 11 top ten finishes driving for TRG. 2004 Co-champion of the Rolex Series SGS class with co-driver Andy Lally. 2 wins and 11 podium positions in 12 races. 2003 1 Rolex Series start at Phoenix, finishing fourth in GT class. 2002 Finished 13th in the GTS class in Rolex 24 at Daytona. / Finished 6th in ALMS GTS class - one podium and seven top-five results in eight starts. 2001 7 starts in Rolex Series GT - best finish 6th at Phoenix. / 6 starts in the Grand-Am Cup Series ST class –best finish 2nd at Phoenix. 2000/1999 1 win each year in Motorola Cup competition Rolex Sports Car Series Victories: 2005 Homestead-Miami (GT), 2005 Watkins Glen 250 (GT); 2004 Watkins Glen 6 hr. (SGS), 2004 Barber Motorsports Park (SGS) Dominic Cicero II Birth date 9/25/1980 Birthplace: Vancouver, Wash. Hometown: Portland, Ore. Personal Information: Personal website: www.dominiccicero.com Racing Resume: 2002-2005 Westernesse Racing LLC. - Progressed from junior Formula Renault to Renault V6. 1998-2000 Professional Factory Racing Driver. Official spokesperson for Elf Oil and Renault Car Company, Competed in Formula Campus Classification, ranked as high as fourth 1997 Refurbished race cars and worked as a race crew member. About The Stevenson Automotive Group Stevenson Automotive Group has been a leading automotive influence in Southeastern North Carolina since 1983. We enjoy a reputation for conducting business in an honest and professional manner with all of our customers. They are always our number one priority. The owner, John Stevenson, has a vested interest in obtaining maximum customer satisfaction and that commitment to excellence is shared with over 200 well-trained parts, service and sales staff. When it has our name on it, you have our word on it! The Stevenson Automotive Group includes the following store locations in North Carolina: Stevenson Honda – Wilmington Stevenson Acura - Wilmington Stevenson Chevrolet - Swansboro Stevenson Chrysler – Jeep – Mazda - Jacksonville Stevenson Hyundai - Suzuki of Jacksonville Stevenson Kia - Jacksonville Stevenson Mazda - Kia - Wilmington Stevenson Toyota - Scion – Jacksonville Stevenson Pre Owned Center - Jacksonville Website: www.StevensonAuto.com